Lawrence committee hears dispute over police chief search as consultant, committee still not finalized

The Lawrence City Personnel Committee on Jan. 22 heard sharply worded complaints about the city’s search for a permanent police chief, with councilors and police department staff describing confusion and poor communication between the mayor’s office, the city attorney’s office, human resources and the police department.

Committee members were told an outside consultant has screened roughly 30 applicants down to about 14, but the seven‑member search committee described in the mayor’s August press release had not been finalized and therefore had not begun the formal committee interviews that would produce finalists for the mayor to consider.

Why it matters: Councilors said the slow, opaque process has undercut confidence in city management and delayed filling a post they say is central to public safety and departmental accreditation. Committee members voted to retable the agenda item for further updates and requested the mayor to appear at a future meeting.

City Attorney Hulin told the committee he has no independent knowledge of day‑to‑day scheduling for the search and that he relays information as provided by the mayor’s office. “If the mayor tells me right now, he calls me and says he is in a car driving to Omaha, I have no independent knowledge what the mayor is doing. I just relay the mayor has said he’s on a car going to Omaha,” Hulin said during the meeting.

Lieutenant James Drazo, who identified himself as a 30‑year member of the Lawrence Police Department, accreditation manager and a union official, told the committee he is “exercising my rights under 149 section 158,” citing a whistleblower statute, and described attempts he made to coordinate stakeholders and the consultant. Drazo said the consultant, identified in the meeting as John Feldman of MGT, had interviewed 12–15 candidates by Zoom and planned an in‑person visit Jan. 20–21 but then canceled after failing to reach city contacts. “There is a huge miscommunication,” Drazo said. “We need a permanent police chief.”

Councilors pressed for specific process details they said were missing: the public criteria used to screen applicants, the consultant’s outreach to community groups, how committee members will be trained to interview candidates, and how transparency and independence will be protected if administration staff contact the consultant.

Committee members repeatedly described a breakdown in communication. Councilor Wendy Luson (vice chair) said she viewed the pattern as tantamount to a cover‑up: “It looks like, unfortunately...a cover up,” Luson said. Councilor Anna Levy asked who hired the consultant; staff said the former personnel director engaged MGT at the mayor’s request. The consultant’s fee structure and total billings were described as “not specified” at the meeting; the city attorney said he could provide billing details if requested.

Several councilors said the mayor has discussed the search publicly on local radio while not appearing at committee meetings to answer questions. Staff told the committee the mayor plans a press conference next week to speak about the process.

Process status and next steps: Committee members were told the consultant’s initial screening has produced a pool of about 14 candidates; the plan described in the meeting is for the full committee to be trained by the consultant (first by Zoom for out‑of‑state candidates, then in person) and to reduce that pool to roughly three finalists the mayor would consider. No committee appointments had been publicly announced; the mayor said he would name his appointments at a press conference, according to city staff.

Formal committee actions recorded at the meeting: the committee voted by voice to untable agenda item 393‑23 (police chief position search committee and update) at the start of the session and later voted to retable the item for further action so councilors who missed part of the discussion could participate when it returns. Both voice votes were recorded as “ayes have it”; no roll‑call tallies were recorded on the public record during the session.

The committee chair said the council will invite the mayor to appear at a subsequent meeting and that councilors will forward a list of written questions to the consultant and staff seeking the screening criteria, outreach records and billing information.

Ending: The committee closed without naming any members of the proposed seven‑person search committee and without setting dates for the committee’s first in‑person interviews; members said they will retable the item and expect a fuller briefing after the mayor’s planned press conference.